James grew up on an Ozarks farm where tools like axes and picks were still used in the daily routine and the blades of stockman's pocketknives served their original functions. Receiving his first pocketknife at age four he got it open by himself nearly a year later and spent his formative years wandering the woods with a succession of ever larger knives, a book of matches and a rifle.
A veteran of Vietnam, James also served in Alaska during a stint in the Army, receiving his first intensive culinary training by setting a record for extra KP at Ft. Richardson.
Settling in the Pacific Northwest after his discharge, James crewed on sailing yachts in local races, backpacked hundreds of miles of mountain trails in search of good trout fishing, and occasionally attended college.
His first serious job as a civilian resulted from answering a Seattle Post Intelligencer want ad requesting someone who could lift 120 pounds repeatedly and wasn't afraid of fire. James apprenticed to John Frazier -- the most knowledgeable traditional foundryman in North America at that time -- for the next six years.
Returning to the Ozarks James made his living by growing ginseng on a hand-terraced wooded hillside and selling handmade wood turnery, furniture, sculpture and architectural carvings. James harvested trees from his own land, processing logs into posts and beams and turnery billets with saws, axes, froes and planes. Since many tools he needed were no longer available, James built his own forge from a barbeque grill, a vacuum cleaner and a 55 gallon steel drum, found a chunk of railroad track for his first anvil, and taught himself blacksmithing -- creating his own knives and tools from scrap steel and sweat.
Changing economic pressures eventually forced James back to the restaurant industry in Branson, Missouri, and later to even more success as a maintenance engineer for one of Branson's largest condominium resorts. Finally escaping to Indiana, James now makes his living telling true stories as a freelance writer.
The Boker Plus Double Action knife does have some good features which aren’t obvious on first glance. This knife looks like an ordinary one-handed folder, but the construction quality and the extra slide lock have made the Boker Double Action a popular choice for automatic conversion as well as folding clip carry.
A recessed slide lock holds the blade in closed position for security in the pocket. Unleashed, the original unmodified Boker Plus opens easily with thumb pressure on the stud at the base of the blade. This is where aftermarket modification found the knife useful, tweaking the same basic system for control of automatic blade deployment. Although that’s certainly possible, the usual restrictions do apply. Only active duty military, individuals with specific disabilities, law enforcement personnel, and a few other exceptions may carry automatic-opening knives.
For the rest of us, this is an excellent one-handed-opening pocket knife with a secure frame lock during use and a safety lock for pocket carry. The blade rotates on a sturdy bearing, which will need some cleaning and a little oil now and then, but the structure of the aluminum frame handle — coated with black EDP — keeps most dirt out. A little regular maintenance keeps the knife in proper working order.
The 4.6-ounce Boker Double Action pocket knife holds a 3-1/4-inch-long AUS-8 high carbon stainless steel blade bead-blasted to reduce shine. Although the knife has a plain edge, the blade’s concave section makes emergency cutting of rope, belts, or harness straps competitive with serrated edges and still allows sharpening by the owner. The curve makes whetstone maintenance a little awkward, but a diamond hone should work well.
Boker’s warranty does not cover knives modified from the original pattern.
James grew up on an Ozarks farm where tools like axes and picks were still used in the daily routine and the blades of stockman's pocketknives served their original functions. Receiving his first pocketknife at age four he got it open by himself nearly a year later and spent his formative years wandering the woods with a succession of ever larger knives, a book of matches and a rifle.
A veteran of Vietnam, James also served in Alaska during a stint in the Army, receiving his first intensive culinary training by setting a record for extra KP at Ft. Richardson.
Settling in the Pacific Northwest after his discharge, James crewed on sailing yachts in local races, backpacked hundreds of miles of mountain trails in search of good trout fishing, and occasionally attended college.
His first serious job as a civilian resulted from answering a Seattle Post Intelligencer want ad requesting someone who could lift 120 pounds repeatedly and wasn't afraid of fire. James apprenticed to John Frazier -- the most knowledgeable traditional foundryman in North America at that time -- for the next six years.
Returning to the Ozarks James made his living by growing ginseng on a hand-terraced wooded hillside and selling handmade wood turnery, furniture, sculpture and architectural carvings. James harvested trees from his own land, processing logs into posts and beams and turnery billets with saws, axes, froes and planes. Since many tools he needed were no longer available, James built his own forge from a barbeque grill, a vacuum cleaner and a 55 gallon steel drum, found a chunk of railroad track for his first anvil, and taught himself blacksmithing -- creating his own knives and tools from scrap steel and sweat.
Changing economic pressures eventually forced James back to the restaurant industry in Branson, Missouri, and later to even more success as a maintenance engineer for one of Branson's largest condominium resorts. Finally escaping to Indiana, James now makes his living telling true stories as a freelance writer.
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The Boker Plus Double Action knife does have some good features which aren’t obvious on first glance. This knife looks like an ordinary one-handed folder, but the construction quality and the extra slide lock have made the Boker Double Action a popular choice for automatic conversion as well as folding clip carry.
